After Vasko Popa
Sinéad Mongan
Once upon a time there was a mistake
made of old habits
the flutter of forks in the woods,
a blindfold of butterflies.
From between crowing trees
the omens would watch, waiting
to bait my belief that the black cat could deperch the magpie.
I could turn back, flee
through the cracking smells in the air
the thunder of my own feet.
I choose to stay, to dance
in the rain of feathers, tripping
on the alchemy of my own curiosity
to gamble again on the wrong horse.
Sinéad Mongan
is the sound of chilled chocolate
ice-cream casing, cracked open
by your kissing eye
its vanilla heart
putting a stammer in my stare.
Rising is the whistle
from capillaried oven-hot jars
hymns freed by the sorbet
of your sorry, unfettered
by the tease of time.
Gone are you down streets
where grasses grow, through
dust of winnowed chaff,
to a place too banished
for the bandage of a hug.
In the snap and pull, I fill pots
with elderberry readiness
all along the long acre, reap
again the how of plenty,
the mastery of preserving
providence in batches,
far from the miracle
and melt of your running eye.
17Mysery
Heartrate skyrockets
Skin perspiring.
This could not have been predicted by a prophet.
This feeling, it’s inspiring.
Pupils dilating
Lips parted in breathy anticipation
Mind has given up to love and intoxication.
This feeling is enervating!
Those dark eyes
Evoke a desire for long-term romantic ties.
Why won’t they meet mine?
Why won’t they accept me?
Perhaps a little wine
Ought to make you more benign.
I propose a meaningless celebration
We both agree on bar-hopping.
Your inebriation does not breed affection.
Drunk off your ass and still unrequiting.
Slurring your words and stumbling
Fumbling with car keys and vomiting
Drunk driving with you is exciting.
Reckless driving: a tension that’s nail-bitiing.
Everything is double in your vision but me
No, me, just he’s and she’s
You wave at your neighbor, Marie
Jealousy festers in my mind like a disease.
We get into your apartment,
Get lost under the sheets.
I rip off our garments
You stop me suddenly disheartened.
Your snores echo in the darkness
I watch you with fondness
Your chest rises and falls
I wish to be yours.
Mindlessly, fingers graze your jaw
Curious eyes search for flaws.
But you are perfect.
Body void of defects.
Scintillating sunlight stirs you from sleep
Seeing me in your bed makes you shriek.
Panic fills your face as you stare
For the first time, you acknowledge me
But not out of love the way I do you
But fear and disgust. You even call me a freak.
You don’t know me like I love you.
You don’t even know my name.
And that’s really such a shame.
I guess I’m to blame.
Getting you drunk before starting the game.
Recovering from your shock, you scream,
“Get out of my house!”
Meek as a mouse, I leave
With promises to return in your dreams.
Jamie Santomasso
She sat, drink in hand
Waiting patiently for her suitor to show
It was warm that night; August twilight as the background.
As he walked toward her they locked eyes for the first time
Yet she couldn’t shake the supposition that they had been here before, together.
A scent of familiarity; honey dews and lilac,
It enveloped her and pulled her to the edge of the rabbit hole.
She was entranced.
In that moment they were the only two in the world,
Creating what would be memories neither of them knew they would keep.
Engaged in conversation, locked in hypnotic stare
Mesmerized by his gaze, she knew she was looking at the calling card of his soul,
Eyes blue like the seas.
She ached to learn more,
To read him cover to cover
To memorize his prologue and epilogue
To recite his printed words.
For in those pages lay the keys, and he was eager to open the door.
Their pull was magnetic, an exigent force that could not be ignored by any that came across them.
Intoxicating and lush
An intensity to behold.
He seemed almost tailor-made,
A gift,
As if engineered by a master sculptor.
Was this chance meeting more than serendipity?
Day turned to dusk
Enveloped in discord, they drank in the blueprint that elucidated the other.
As if learning a new dialect, but one all their own.
They were becoming one.
Without words, they adjourned.
The anticipation of the unknown awaited them,
Playfully taunting the pair as they departed with intent
Retiring to her refuge they plunged further down the rabbit hole.
Hours passed like minutes.
They indulged in each other as if they were starving for air, alternating between profound colloquy and the language of lovers; whispery gasps creating the soundtrack.
Drunk off euphoria,
Endorphins coursing through their veins,
High off their own supply.
He embraced her as if she had always been there.
A spark inside her ignited, “what ifs” were replaced with unquestionable truths that neither could ignore.
Synchronicities danced in firelight.
His fingers traced her art-laced body instinctively, as if having done it for years, burned into his memory
Their lips met effortlessly, reuniting for the first time.
She welcomed him into her with only a look
He swam in the oceans of her lust.
Drowning in passion they gasped for air,
Floating with the stars as one.
Her soul was unable to shake the feeling of home
A place she wasn’t looking for, yet discovered regardless.
Her reverie resided in his arms
The personification of perfection
And she knew, this was beginning.
Night birthed morning
Refreshed despite not having taken in slumber
They were each other’s rejuvenation.
The sun rays recharged their cores
The reality had not set
Their lives changed irrevocably
They were now on the path intended, mirrored, as if prepensed, forever intending to lead to this moment.
The now.
Finally, they rose from the rapture they had woven hours before
Bedsheets strewn across the floor in fervor.
Locking fingers like ivy
Embracing as if it were their last,
Knowing it was their first.
Their eyes locked, sharing secrets they themselves didn’t know yet.
Becoming, in its purest form.
As she closed the door behind him a wave of serenity engulfed her.
Peace.
Purpose.
He left behind his energy with her
A song crafted by the fates,
Pacing her vibration perfectly in time
And she realized, this was indeed beginning.
It had always been.
The Green Shoe Sanctuary 